Nathan Englander Quotes

United States, Short Story Writer
1970

Nathan Englander is an American short story writer and novelist. His debut short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, was published by Alfred A. Knopf, in 1999. His second collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, won the 2012 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Also known as Novelist

I always call myself either an optimistic pessimist or a pessimistic optimist - I'm not sure which way it goes.

Nathan Englander
I wrote a novel, so now they can call me a novelist. I tell stories; that's it.

Nathan Englander
- Stories
- Wrote
- Novelist

Empathy is what obsesses me. And watching empathy recede in the world is terrifying.

Nathan Englander
- World
- Empathy
- Obsesses
So writing stories is not easier in comparison to the playwriting or translation; the stories are easier in league with them.

Nathan Englander
I'm kind of in love with my theater agent. I'm a true naive about the theater, a total innocent.

Nathan Englander
- Innocent
- Theater
- Naive
There's no safety in anything, but in the arts, there is really this idea of no promises. I didn't follow the writing dream for safety.

Nathan Englander
- Safety
- Arts
- Promises
Sometimes I feel like those born-again folk, always working on their faith, but I'm always working on my atheism. We all have our struggles.

Nathan Englander
- Faith
- Atheism
- Struggles
When you see 'editor' on a book, there are many permutations of what that title can mean.

Nathan Englander
- Mean
- Editor
- Permutations

I'm very interested in how people change.

Nathan Englander
- People
- Change
For a book to function... it has to be a functioning reality. The character has to be real, and I imagine that's exactly what happens for a spy who is in deep cover.

Nathan Englander
- Real
- Book
- Function